Sunday, April 30, 2023

Island Princess World Cruise 2023 - Final Thoughts

Retired Nomads - Part 3 https://retirednomadspart3.blogspot.com/

Well, it seems I have filled up another blog. I no longer can post photos, so I have started a Retired Nomads - Part 3. I will leave the last 3 posts here on this one, but all photos are now on the new one on the duplicate posts. 

Final Thoughts 

Of course, even though it was our 4th world cruise it is not lost on us that it was another fabulous adventure and realize it’s something that most can’t or wouldn’t do even if they could.

It’s hard not to compare the experiences. Our first 3 were on the small Pacific Princess and this one was on the larger Island Princess. This one was post covid, so it is hard to know how that impacted the quality, though we were not thrilled with the quality on this ship on our 60-day South America in 2018. If I was keeping score, I would rank our World Cruses best to "least best" 2013, 2019, 2017, 2023.

This one was negative enough to not take any more world cruises on the Island and maybe not even on Princess again. We will cruise on other Princess ships, but 6 months total on the Island was enough.

I’m sure (or at least I hope) that those on their first world cruise were pleased with their experience. For the rest of us here are some observations:

Princess did nothing to make this feel like a special event. It didn’t feel like a world cruise since every segment the count started over with “day 1 of your cruise”. 

We did get some free WC logo’s goodies, though those of us that got on in Lauderdale didn’t get ours on arrival as in the past. It was delivered on the day we were in Los Angeles. (when the “real” world cruise started) I heard that the World Cruise photo that we got just before we disembarked in Lauderdale won't be delivered to the people that get off in Los Angeles. Why not treat us all the same?

Lack of World Cruise Merchandise in the ship’s store. Only a few T-shirts in limited sizes and a couple of jackets and sweaters. They kept saying more was coming, but it never did. If it didn’t get delivered on time, they could have had it shipped to any number of our ports to replenish the stock. If they didn’t order much in case the cruise did not go (Covid) they had time to have some printed up and delivered in 111 days. 

The Pacific Princess had a lovely outdoor dining area for meals that we used often for breakfast or lunch. Of course, the weather on this cruise would have put a damper on how many times that actually could have been used. The Island does have a nice large wrap around window in the buffet area, that if the windows were clean enough you could enjoy looking out.

Lack of local fruits around the world, that we have always had in the past.

No huge Sunday Brunches - The kind with a dessert table, an exotic fruit table, lobsters, crab, shrimp, whole pig, other fishes, and meats with wonderful sides. Some chefs had a reginal corner of the dining room that was like Indian Street Food, Mexican etc.

The food was the most unimaginative and repetitive of any cruise. It was hard to get a hot meal in the dining room or a cold drink before the main was served. Sodas were often warm. 

Nothing special was done for Easter, though there was a Seder dinner for the Jews. On the last WC the chef was so disappointed that Easter Sunday fell on a port day instead of a sea day so he could have a huge special Easter brunch that he had it on Monday which was a sea day. YUM!

Medallion is still not working well for ordering drinks etc. You could wait up to half an hour and sometimes the drink never arrived at all. If it did show up it was warm or melted by the time you got it after they walked around the room for half an hour with it.

Baked goods over-baked and fried things under-fried.

We started out with a fun cruise director that was replaced with an obnoxious bully. He belongs on a 3- or 7-day cruise since that is all the chit chat he had to say before and after every show. How did the other guy manage to say different things every night? Instead of a fun “Wake Show” he gave us stats for a 7-day cruise on how much of each item of food was consumed. Half-way through a world cruise that was something we needed to know? He read stats and celebrity birthdays like that was interesting.

He had to stop his talk before or after a show to harass anyone coming in or leaving as he was talking. He often gave incorrect information about when things were happening.

He made fun of ports that he knew nothing about. Made fun of the Suez Canal. Nothing to see but sand on one side and sand on the other. Gee, we find it quite interesting with plenty to see from the balcony. He said things like tomorrow we are in Malta, just don’t call them Maltese, because that’s the dog. Uh, they are called Maltese. (and on and on) Here’s a thought, learn about the places on the itinerary so you don’t sound stupid and make a place sound exciting instead of putting it down.

We started out with a fun pool/party band that played a lot of different types of music and they were replaced with a band that was terrible. No rhythm, none of them could sing well and the lead was never in time with the rest of the band. One type of music was all they had.

We understand when there are missed ports and entertainers are stuck on board and have to perform again, but the new CD brought on entertainers that we had seen previously on this same cruise and presented them like they were new. He was new to the ship, we weren’t. He kept saying “when the cruise started” meaning when he got on.

Entertainment was varied and there was something for everybody, of course not all may be to your taste.

The first set of singers and dancers had more elaborate shows than the second set. We had more elaborate shows on the small Pacific Princess with way less stage room and bells and whistles.

We wished the Captain that came on late in the cruise had been there for the whole cruise. He seemed to know how to make it to port on time, whereas the first Captain was always late. I’m also convinced that he would have made it into the ports that the first Captain skipped. Especially when tour guides on land were saying no weather issues here and other ships made the port on the same day we skipped. Of course, wind and water conditions may not be that apparent to those on land?

Weather is something of course we can’t control. The first 3 WCs had much better weather. We could use the pools and the sun decks and sit on our balcony. This time it was mostly grey, cool or downright cold and windy. It does impact your cruise experience of course.

The biggest issue with this WC is the ship. When they took out a show lounge and some other areas to put in more cabins it ruined the ship. Lots of plumbing issues, water leaks, mold mildew etc. I think that is why so many of us are sick on board. (had the same issue on the 2018 South America.)

Less places to hang out on the ship as games were being played in all lounges, so we spent more time in the cabin.

OK, let’s talk some positive stuff!

Great travel family! We have met some great people over the course of our various cruises. It is really HUGE that people we know and like join so many tours that I set up. It is such a weight off me to know they will show up, be on time, understand when everything doesn’t go perfectly all the time and are just fun people to have on tours. Special hugs go out to Cathy & Tom, Heather & Matt, Bob & Phyllis, Horst & Mark and a few new people we met on this cruise; Roberta & John and June. 

Great table mates! We met Roy & Rondi briefly on the 2018 South America and by chance they were our tablemates for the 2019 World Cruise. We agreed to be tablemates again for this world cruise. Rondi & I think so much alike that we swear we are related. Roy, keep watching those documentaries. I'm sure our paths will cross again!

Ports! We do love the cruise experience, but we cruise for the ports!

We only gained 1 new country on this cruise, but many new cities and islands. It should have been 2, but we had to skip Slovenia due to "weather". That tells us that as much as we enjoy the world cruises, we need to start doing some targeted cruises/travels to see more of the world.

People always ask what our favorite place is, but that’s something we just can’t answer. How much we enjoy a place can be the place itself, but often it is the experience we had while visiting.

On this cruise the highlights for us were:

Jaipur & Varanasi India. Place & experience! Culture, elephant experience & everything about Varanasi. Sharing the experience with Cathy & Tom put it over the top. Thanks guys! 

Ravenna, Italy – Adding the charming country of San Marino and touring Urbino where we had the best gelato & pizza of the trip.

Pago Pago, American Samoa – we tried so many times to get here and finally made it! The tour vehicles were a hoot. Loved the island.

Penang, even though we have been before. Interesting sites & culture.

Lanzarote, Canary Islands – just such different experiences here. Landscapes and camel rides!

Montenegro, even though we have been here before we enjoyed seeing more of the country. Seeing snow and warming by the cast iron stove while we ate Njegusi prosciutto & cheese & drank wine.

Barcelona, Spain - Leaving lovely Barcelona behind we headed to Girona & Figures for a day of Salvador Dali’ & Game of Thrones. Coming back to Barcelona and having tapas & sangria on La Rambla in Barcelona.

Rome, Italy – seeing the underground Rome was fascinating.

Catania, Sicily – Mt Etna was fabulous, and our tasting stop was wonderful. Taormina was lovely.

Malta remains one of my favorite places to visit. Thanks again Joan!

Naples for Capri – the chair lift ride was awesome! 

Loved Marrakech despite our terrible guide.

Kusadasi, Turkey for Ephesus exceeded expectations.

Gythion, Greece – while Sparta isn’t much, Mystras was awesome!

Komodo Island – while we had better dragon sightings last time, the visit to the fishing village and the school children performing was amazing.

Tauranga, NZ – we only got part of our day here, but what an excellent stop. Next time Hobbiton.

Cairns, AU – though we have been quite a few times, this was an exceptional tour. Seeing a Platypus in the wild and a Tree Kangaroo was a highlight.

Dubai, UAE is always a favorite. We manage to find something different to do on each visit. Camel Market was a highlight! We did enjoy doing the Evening in the Desert again with such a great group of friends.

Thailand – I could live in Thailand!

Of course, we love our days when we are birding in various ports. I haven’t mentioned all of the ports, but honestly, they all were worthy of a stop. I learn so much history in places like Malaga at The Alhambra and just about every place we visit.

Some places are better visited in season when they are bustling and everything is open, like Villefranche, France.

Fellow passengers on this cruise were quite different than on previous world cruises. I think due to the Pandemic a lot of people were spurred to do travel in a big way. Mobility issues galore on this one. Many more rude people than “normal”. One of our friends said it felt like a Walmart cruise. Yes, of course there were many wonderful people too.

Food was hit and miss on this cruise. We had issues with waiters in the evening not being up to the high standards we have experienced in the past. For lunches when many of the assistant waiters get to be waiters the service was always good. We switched tables when dinner would take so long you would miss the show. He was argumentative and slow. The new one was better, but still not great. When you ask for melted butter for your lobster and he points to the hollandaise sauce and says “there’s butter in there” that struck me as odd. Every other waiter when you ask for salad dressing on the side, they bring it and let you put it on yourself. The new one insists on putting it on for you and never stops when you say thank you or even STOP. (same with sauces that go in a souffle, just kept pouring until he emptied the container) He seemed to never remember that our tablemates always share a pot of tea, and we never want coffee or tea. Just lots of little things that were lacking. Post Pandemic I'm sure we should have expected issues. 

Here’s a thought…….

Princess

Perhaps, you no longer value loyalty. Taking away milestones like the special luncheons for 500 days and above and recognition at that Captains Circle Party. Having to pay for things that used to be included on previous world cruises.

Many older people eat bran cereal, and it runs out quickly on every long cruise, while there is always corn flakes and rice Krispies and bran twigs, since no one eats those. LOL

Brown sugar is not Sugar in the Raw (was told there is no brown sugar on the ship) It has always been next to the oatmeal in the buffet. They point to the Sugar in the Raw and say that IS brown sugar.

Have enough dishware that one doesn’t have to burn their fingers picking up a glass or a plate? Or your ice melts as soon as it’s poured into a hot glass.

No regional fruits picked up along the way. Always has been part of the world cruise experience.

Sell the Island Princess. Many of us believe she is a “sick ship” with all the mold and mildew from continued water leaks and floods. She just isn’t of a caliber to be the one that does world or other long cruises.

Medallion needs to work better if we are to use them for ordering drinks etc. 

Variety of foods is key on a long cruise. Not expensive to use the same ingredients to make something different. (pastries & desserts)

Oddly, when people take a world cruise, they expect it to feel special. It doesn't cost anything to acknowledge people that got on in FL or LA as world cruisers. Maybe have some special events. On the last 3 we had a party or tea for the end of the cruise. Nothing special was done on this one. Not much hoopla getting on so guess we shouldn't have expected any at the end. Having a deck party with a band playing really isn't anything special. No food or anything, just a normal deck party. It was the comment we heard the most about the ship, that Princess treated us like we were on a 7-day Caribbean cruise instead of a World Cruise. 

Do chocolates on the pillow really cost that much money? 

Do we really need to thank the band and the sound and lights 4 or 5 times in every performance? 

Fellow passengers

How about not stopping in doorways to chat?

Walking slowly down the middle of the aisle so no one can get past you.

How about not eating as you work your way down the buffet? One lady stood in front of the juice display and drank about 6 of them while she stood there and then put the empties back on the display.

How about taking your coffee or tea to your table to make it the way you want it instead of standing in front of the dispenser adding your sugar, cream etc.?

How about not talking through a show like you are at home on your couch? Or tapping your glass to whatever beat you are listening to. Shaking your ice in your drink for the entire show. Sit still. The person behind you doesn't need to bob and weave through the whole show. 

If you want to sit on the end of the row, expect to get up when others want to sit in the same row.

Don’t come into a show lounge with music or game shows going on and then try to outshout the entertainment.

Common courtesy isn’t that common any more…….

Well, as you know I could go on and on, but despite all the “stuff” we had a great time exploring some new places and revisiting old. Perhaps we need a bit of "attitude adjustment" and except things may never be the same as pre-pandemic cruising. 

Our next adventure is to Iceland and Greenland on Iceland ProCruises. 10 days around Iceland and 12 around most of Greenland on a small expedition ship. (July/August)

Then, we will look into doing some River Cruises with some land and ocean cruises added to the mix if I can get things to line up. We are also looking at going back to Africa on the Holland America’s Grand Africa Voyage. 73 days at the end of 2024. I’ll plan an over-land or two to get in some safari time. It will hit the Ivory Coast which we have not previously done. 

Thanks for following along. Now, I need to get to work on photos and finishing the blog posts. In the future I will probably not keep up the blog on the trip but will wait until we get home. It takes a lot of time when I should be enjoying our trip. 

Saturday, April 29, 2023

Sea days – Apr 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 & Fort Lauderdale, FL Apr 27

Sea days – Apr 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26

Apr 20 – I finally felt up to lunch in the dining room and the menu looked good. (the food not so much). Started feeling bad again just before lunch so came back and slept for a few hours.

Rondi called to see if we were going to dinner in the dining room. We both have been eating most meals at the buffet. The menu looked good, and we decided to go. It was nice to catch up with them. They both have had the ship crud too.

We went to the evening show which was Pianist Linda Gentile. She is awesome and we have seen her on a previous WC. Mostly symphony & Broadway and she speaks many languages. She lived in China for more than 20 years and she is the entertainer that has had the most performances in China that isn’t Chinese. Her famous trick in her shows is asking the audience for 10 different songs and then playing them in order backwards. Her fingers fly on the keyboard. She was trained early on by Liberace, and she loves to show off her diamond piano necklace he gave her.

Another sea day tomorrow….

Apr 21 – Voice is coming back, but still croaky and honky.

We opted for the lunch buffet.

We had booked dinner at the steakhouse, and we were into our meal when Heather & Matt came in and were seated next to us. We chatted a bit, while still trying to give each other “space”. Cathy & Tom came in after we left, and they saw Matt & Heather. Roy & Rondi came later and saw Cathy & Tom as they were seated for dinner. Guess we all had the same idea. We got a surprise however and we were charged for our meal, and it was supposed to be a gift from our Travel Agent. 4 came with the Princess promotion for booking early. We are trying to straighten it out, but the front desk is rude and not helpful.

The evening entertainment was comedian Daren Howard. Kind of a head scratcher as he was all over the place and not all that funny.

We then went to the evening game show which was Where in the World are We? We didn’t play but would have done well if we had with just the 2 of us vs teams of 6 that didn’t do as well. One team tried to say they had a certain number of points, but it wasn’t really possible, so they were eliminated and there was a tie for the win. (should have played)

Another sea day tomorrow……

April 22 – voice still not back totally.

We went to Alfredo’s Pizzeria for lunch and waited an hour to get in. Yikes!

We then went to the passenger talent show which turned out to be really good. Lots of talented people on board. A violinist, a couple of guitar players, some singers, some pianists and a couple of comedians. It lasted well over an hour.

Heather had suggested a get-together for our main tour-mates. We met at 4:00 in Explorer’s Lounge and it was such fun talking about the hits and misses and what everyone was going to do next. Bob & Phyllis, Cathy & Tom, Heather & Matt, June, Roberta & John and us. Host & Mark were missing. Heather and I both had a few “incidences” with people on tours that we didn’t know, but over-all everything went well. I feel so fortunate that especially on this cruise I knew so many fantastic people to tour with. It really makes a tour more special when shared with nice & fun people.

We ate upstairs at the buffet since it was Mexican night, and the evening show was Jason Neistadt a voice impersonator. He was pretty funny.

We then went to the "Yes No" game which is always fun to watch to see how long someone can carry on a conversation without saying” Yes or No” or any form of the word, like yeah or nope.

We got an extra hour today (we have two more time changes before we hit Florida.)

We watched a documentary on Jane Goodall and Louis Leakey in the beginning years of studying Chimpanzees.

Another day at sea…..

Apr 23 – I’m doing better, but still have a creaky voice and a cough. We had breakfast at the buffet and then went to the Pub Lunch. It can be very good food, but the last couple of times it hasn’t been good. Probably why it was not busy.

We then packed for a bit and then went to the Passenger version of The Voice. There is one lady on the cruise that can really sing. She nails an Aretha song every time we have seen her, so it was no surprise that she won today. Everyone else was also very talented, but she really stood out.

We went to the dining room tonight since the food sounded good. Roy & Rondi were going to the steak place for dinner.

The entertainment tonight was the wife of the entertainer last night. Claire Gobin is a violinist and did a fun show of rock & symphony songs.

No game show tonight so we came back and watched the movie, The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Interesting….

Tomorrow is another day at sea….

Apr 24 – Voice is trying very hard to come all the way back. Just a minor cough now.

Breakfast at the buffet and lunch at the buffet. They had another Alfredo’s Pizza today, but since we just ate there, we skipped it. (though it is very good)

There was an afternoon concert by Liberty one of the Assistant Cruise Directors. She really is a great singer.

It’s a formal night and we did eat in the dining room for the Escargot’s and Surf & Turf. First really good meal we have had in the dining room in a long time. Steak was thick, hot and tasty and the lobster was also hot.

The show tonight was a Production Show called It Takes Two. Hard to call what this group of performers are doing Production Shows. Some have been all singing, some all dancing and some a combination of both, but not a blow-out Production Show like we have seen on ships. This one featured only 2 of the singers which forced one to sing a solo in the show about famous duets while the other did a costume change. There is another set of singers that could have sung while the other two did costume changes. Only 4 – 6 of the dancers performed a bit with some of the songs. Just seemed like such a struggle to try to make a story out of linking the songs together. (unlike Liberty in her performances where she told the story and sang the song) The Production Show was more like a bad concert instead of a show.

We came back to the room and watched Bad Times at the El Camino Royale. It was quite the plot twister and a fun movie to watch.

We are almost packed to go home…..

Tonight, we got a paper saying there would be a World Cruise group photo tomorrow. I thought they weren’t doing one since it already hadn’t happened. Most of us that get off in Florida have packed just about everything. Not that anyone can see you in those photos anyway. LOL

Tomorrow is another day at sea……

Apr 25 – almost have my full voice back.

Breakfast at the buffet and then got showered and ready for the group photo on the pool deck. First sunny and warm day we have had in many days on this cruise. We stood up in front of the jacuzzi since it is elevated and joined Roy & Rondi. 

The dining room didn’t look interesting for lunch, so we went up to the buffet.

We had dinner in the dining room. Finally, the food is picking up in quality and we get off soon.

The entertainment tonight was the Princess Harmony/Pop Choir that David Crathorne leads each segment. Always fun to listen to the talents of our fellow passengers. David is really perfect for leading the groups and this one was the largest one ever. He also is just a great person.

Then a Crew Talent Show. This one was spectacular! A few from the last Crew Talent Show performed again and many new ones. Great singers, dancers and then the Bar Boys did a show with dancing and fancy bottle and shaker moves. The Entertainment Director, Susan sang and then brought out her husband whom she had met over 27 years ago when he worked security. They had performed together on a Crew Talent Show, and they sang the song that they did all those years ago, not knowing they would be together. (it was a love song) She said after 27 years of being together, they finally got married. He is retired and she is still working. Liberty also sang a song. One of the waiters that everyone knows from singing in the dining room performed and brought the house down. The show ran long, so it was off to bed.

Despite Cruise Director Andi saying we could buy our WC Group Photos, one did come as a gift for all World Cruisers, plus a plexiglass etching (paper weight) of the Island Princess with World Cruise 2023 on it and a matching key chain.

April 26 – I guess my full voice won’t return until we get home.

Last day of the cruise for us. Bittersweet for sure.

Breakfast at the buffet. Ran into Roberta & John who are staying on until Los Angeles and gave some final hugs.

Lunch in the dining room as they had banana splits for dessert.

Dinner in the dining room so we could have one final night with Roy & Rondi. Such nice folks and we each offered our spare bedrooms should we want to visit each other. They live above Montana in Canada and said they would meet us when we visit the western part of Montana. They came to have a quick lunch with us when we took the train across Canada in Banff. I guess our luck ran out on good food becoming a trend in the dining room. It was Prime Rib night. Rondi's was thick and med-rare and mine was thin and only a small part had any pink in it. Then, we find out there is no horseradish sauce as the ship had run out. Baked potato was hard. The Baked Alaska however was fantastic. 

Tonight, the show was a combination show with the Pianist Linda Gentille and Travis Turpine. They each pretty much did a full show each, so it ran long. Both very talented and fun to watch. We packed everything we won’t need in the morning and everything put out into the hall. Final hugs to our cabin stewardess Janice and she was so appreciative of the extra cash we gave her. She has 3 children in college and is paying for that. She was so sweet and probably one of the best ones we have ever had on a cruise. 

April 27 – Arrival in Fort Lauderdale for disembarkation. There will be quite a few continuing on to Los Angeles for the end of their 111-day journey. Holy Crap, what a mess this morning! Most all of the crew were going through immigration off the ship and at breakfast there were NO clean tables and NO silverware. Finally, we sat with some other people at a clean end and then waited to get some silverware.

Ran into a few people for last minute hugs and we were ready to get off. 

We chose the middle timeframe to get off. We got down to the sea of luggage only to find out that colors weren’t all in the same place and any that were in the right place weren’t put together by number. It took over an hour to find all our luggage. Then, had to wait in line for a porter. Finally, got through customs and the porter dropped our stuff at the curb. I stayed with the luggage and Greg went to wait for the shuttle to the rental car place. He got there (over an hour past the time of pickup) and the van was not ready. Finally, I saw him coming and then just had to wait until enough cars got out of the way to pull up to where our luggage was. We have never been that late leaving the port. We normally are home well before lunch. This time we had to stop for lunch on the way home. Just a fitting end to a cruise riddled with things Princess could have done better.

In 50 cruises there have only been 2 that I wasn’t sad when they ended, or I could have stayed on and done it all over again. This one on the Island, and the 60-day South America on the Island.

We've been home a couple of days now and I'm making progress with the laundry and getting things organized and put away. Soon, I'll get back to organizing photos and getting them uploaded to Google Web Albums and eventually added to my blog. 

I'm about done with my final thoughts on the world cruise and will post that in a day or two. 

Thursday, April 20, 2023

Santa Cruz de La Palma, Canary Islands – Apr 19

Retired Nomads - Part 3 https://retirednomadspart3.blogspot.com/

Well, it seems I have filled up another blog. I no longer can post photos, so I have started a Retired Nomads - Part 3. I will leave the last 3 posts here on this one, but all photos are now on the new one on the duplicate posts. 

Santa Cruz de La Palma, Canary Islands – Apr 19

Day 8 with no voice - very little coming out.

I had a private tour set up here, but it fell through when the guide quit responding and he fell off the guides list in ToursByLocals. I tried emailing lots of people to find a guide here to no avail. The La Palma Taxi only works out of a resort on the other side of the island, and they said you’d need to take a taxi to get to us and then we could give you a tour. Looking at TripAdvisor etc., it wasn’t clear if we could just grab a cab near the port for a tour. One source said if you find one, they probably won’t speak English, which would have been fine for us, but not if we had anyone else with us. Long story short, I gave up and booked a Princess tour. I say we need to take a big bus tour on each WC just to remind ourselves why we set up small private tours. So much wasted time and for some reason fellow passengers feel like it’s OK to tell other people what to do.

I think in the future we will take our chances even if we don’t do anything. It really is a painful experience to tour with 45 plus people. We have overheard a few people say they found taxi's so good to know.

So, we herd onto the bus and get seats. Our guide was Valentina, and the driver was David. Valentina talked non-stop. She was very nice and informative, but sometimes you just want some quiet. The tour really was a poorly planned use of our time. (but that is often the style of Princess tours since they have such a wide variety of mobility issues to deal with)

It is a beautiful green island with deep valleys and tall mountains. Ocean views and countryside were jaw-dropping. Honestly, I preferred Lanzarote with all the variety and just different sites there. This island just didn’t have the same charm. Maybe I’d felt differently had we been on a small group tour where you get to see more. (not that all private tours go smoothly either if you have a crappy guide)

We had a photo op at Mirador de San Bartolome’.

Our next stop was at Los Tilos Forest and were only given 30 minutes there to get out of the large bus one at a time and then take the walk to the waterfall and then visit the visitor’s center and use the bathroom. It took 30 minutes to get to the waterfall and back. 

Then, we visited a small town that wasn’t on our schedule. We visited San Andres’ for The Church of San Andrés Apóstol which the guide said she has never seen open. She talked for about 15 minutes on banana growing. We had 30 minutes here?

Once on the bus a lady had a printout of the tour and the guide said it was different from the itinerary she was given. Our next stop was to be Charco Azul Nature Pools, but the guide said now there wouldn’t be enough time. (maybe skip the town where the church is never open?)

Santuario de la Virgen de las Nieves was our next stop, and we had 45 minutes in this small place. The small church was beautiful, but really nothing else was there. One small coffee bar and a gift shop that sold alcohol and a few items. A larger shop that only sold church items.

Now, we are headed to lunch that is included in the cost of the tour. Dorada Especial Restaurante el Halcon Parrilla – Pizzeria. It was tasty food, just nothing special. Bread & cheese was served with a yummy sauce. Then a chicken noodle soup. The main was grilled chicken and a pork chop, potatoes and a salad. A locally grown banana was dessert. Wine was included.

Then we reboard the bus for the 45 minute ride to Volcano San Antonio. I think we had 35 - 45 minutes here and there are 2 viewpoints (slightly long walk for many of the folks on the tour) and then she says to follow her, and she brings out a map and uses our time to show us where we have been throughout the day. She just kept talking and we and a few others broke away so we could go see the landscape and make both of the walks. No time for the visitor’s center and we are back on the bus where we waited another 15 to 20 minutes for the slower people that she wanted to make sure got to both viewpoints.

Then, the 45-minute ride back to the port. Our last stop was to be Escuela de Artesania, a handicraft workshop where we had hoped to buy something hand-made or unusual. That, however, was not on the itinerary that our guide had. She knew people were “upset” over 2 of the not included stops and kept stressing that there was a really big gift shop at the terminal at the port. She had to drop us at the ship and then we had to walk back to get to it. Found my token magnet and spent off the rest of our euros on chocolates. Meh.

We had dinner at the buffet and the Show was Vocal Voice Impersonator Travis Turpin. He was OK.

Now, for 7 sea days before we return to Ft. Lauderdale for the end of our 111-day adventure.

We got to set our clocks back 1 hour tonight for that extra hour of sleep. We will have several more on the journey back, so we get back on Florida time.

Photos will follow and I probably won't post again until we get home. Nothing all that exciting about our sea days and we will be packing. I will do a last post of our impressions of this voyage.  

I'm only to the start of India with organizing photos, so I will have a lot to work on when we get home.

La Palma, Canary Islands https://photos.app.goo.gl/hcFr1rwPaDRUBqnS7

Birds seen:

Chiffchaff - NEW

Common Raven

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Eurasian Kestrel

Island Canary - NEW

Plain Swift - NEW

Red-billed Chough - NEW


Lanzarote, Canary Islands – Apr 18

Retired Nomads - Part 3 https://retirednomadspart3.blogspot.com/

Well, it seems I have filled up another blog. I no longer can post photos, so I have started a Retired Nomads - Part 3. I will leave the last 3 posts here on this one, but all photos are now on the new one on the duplicate posts. 

Lanzarote, Canary Islands – Apr 18

Day 7 with no voice, but it is starting to feel like it wants to come back. I turned to say something to Greg at lunch and it came out a HONK. He turns to me and says “you honked at me!” I laughed so hard it sent me into quite a honking coughing fit. (not pretty)

What a great day we had in Lanzarote. It really was like we landed on another planet. Angela with ToursByLocals https://www.toursbylocals.com/ was our guide and she was very flexible and arranged our day perfectly. Very knowledgeable and honest about life on the Island.




We started with a stop at Green Lake in the crater of a volcano that was formed during the powerful eruptions that took place between 1730 and 1736 that has been partially invaded by the sea. The large amounts of a special algae create the green color which is quite a contrast with the blue ocean. The Green Lagoon of El Golfo is also a fishing Village.

Next, we visited the National Park of Timanfaya, with the route of the volcanoes. Covering over 12,600 acres, this lunar landscape looks much like it did after violent volcanic eruptions spewed chunks of molten lava over the entire area.

We started with a few demonstrations. First, we held some very hot lava pieces. Then, went to see another area that was all heat and it came up under the restaurant above it. Angela said when she was young her mom would bring them there and cook their meals on the grate and picnic. It’s not allowed now; the site is much too busy with tourists. Angela got us to the front of every line which saved us a ton of time.

We then had some free time before driving the route of the volcanoes. She could slow down and even stop for a bit, but we weren’t allowed out of the vehicle. Just awesome colors and formations. Angela played music that enhanced our volcano viewing drive.

After that we took a camel safari through the park for around 30 minutes. We have ridden camels before but had never sat on seats on either side of the camel. What a blast! We were in a long caravan, and we had the first position and Tom & Cathy were behind us. Their camel seemed fixated on me. His head was right us next to mine for most of the trip. He was a noisy breather and I asked if he needed a decongestant spray. Roberta & John opted not to ride, and John got some great video of all of us. We could turn around and get photos of Tom & Cathy and the camel guy took our photos. It was the highlight of the day for some of us. Cute photos & video will come later.....

We left Timanfaya National Park for the vine-growing region of La Geria. We stopped for a photo op here, but she said that due to a bad weather year last year, the wine wasn’t that good, so we skipped the tasting. It was very interesting to see how they grow crops here with deep circles to collect what little rain they get surrounded by lava walls to block the wind.

We stopped for a wonderful lunch which our guide suggested by the water at El Lago in Punta Mujeres. It was windy and cool outside, so we moved indoors to have lunch. Greg had the fish of the day platter, and I had garlic prawns and garlic bread. Dessert for us was chocolate mousse. YUM to all.

The route then took us north, to visit Jameos del Agua which is a massive open-air cavern that is part of a four-mile long volcanic tunnel that was formed by molten lava after the eruption of the La Corona volcano 3,000 years ago. Due to the pressure built up by volcanic gases, the tunnel collapsed and developed openings in the solidified lava. These openings were discovered in 1968 and, based upon an idea by Manrique, were turned into a tropical garden, a pool, a bar and a 600-seat concert venue. We saw only a small portion of the tunnel that is open to the public and of course it’s a mix of natural and made-made beauty. These tiny albino crabs are in the water, and it was quite pleasant in there with atmospheric music. She gave us an hour to explore here. It really was a great day with a mix of such different things to experience.

We had some time left and Angela noticed we enjoyed seeing the cactus at La Geria, so she took us to a beautiful cactus garden for about 20 minutes before we had to return to Arrecife. 

Located in Guatiza, municipality of Teguise, El Jardín de Cactus is the last great work of César Manrique in Lanzarote, a fascinating creation that houses about 4,500 specimens of cactus of about 500 species from five continents. The artist chose an old deposit used as a landfill in an agricultural area of extensive cactus plantations dedicated to the cultivation of cochineal, thus representing the rehabilitation of a place of great landscape value on the island in a state of neglect.

There are also many sculptures made of volcanic stone and basaltic monoliths turned into sculptures. Also, some very interesting bathroom signs. (wait for the photos)

We were back to the ship on time, and we commented that it was a great ending to all of our private tours together on this voyage. Nice to end on a high note!

We had dinner at the buffet and went to see the comedian Keith Bender and he was quite funny.

Tomorrow, we visit our last port of La Palma.

Lanzarote, Canary Islands https://photos.app.goo.gl/tRLvBsPuFXMdsgZz6

video will follow

Birds seen:

Common Raven
Little Egret
Rock Pigeon

Sea Day – Apr 17

Sea Day – Apr 17

Day 6 no voice

Today there was a pub lunch, and it was formal night. Pub lunch can be very good or not. Today, the fish was kind of gummy and just not fried well.

We blew off formal night and ate at the buffet. The menu was more of the same and I didn't feel well enough to go for a long sit down. I had the chicken tacos from the grill which hit the spot.

We did go back to the Production Show Let’s Dance even though we saw it recently. Then, back to the room to get ready for Lanzarote part of the Canary Islands. I'm ready to feel better any day now....

Casablanca, Morocco – Apr 16

Casablanca, Morocco – Apr 16

No voice day 5

It was nice to have a hot day for a change. I’m so tired of wearing every layer I have and still being cold, so today was a treat.

Today we had one of our top 3 worst tours of the trip. It was our first trip to Marrakech, though not to Morocco. We were joined today by Tom & Cathy and Roberta & John. Our guide was El Mehdi with ToursByLocals. https://www.toursbylocals.com/ Our driver was Simo who was a gem despite not much English for our 3 hours plus drive each way. The landscape was very beautiful, and we were surprised by the huge numbers of crops in fields and horses, sheep, donkeys, cattle and goats. There were pretty mountain areas with formations and colors that reminded us of the Badlands. It was a treat to see ploughs that were donkey or horse driven. Many people were out tending to the herds and working in the fields. The time flew by as we took in the countryside.

billboard



cemetery

farms along the way






















rest stop















arriving in Marrakech










Mehdi on the other hand was a terrible guide. He met us once we got to Marrakech and just like the guide we had in Israel, he would stand and tell you about something and then run past it.

El Mehdi



snow on High Atlas Mountains
walking to the square









Other than our over-land to India we looked most forward to Marrakech. We loved Marrakech we just wished we had had a guide that understood our needs and could adapt his plan to ours. He had specific places we “had” to be shown and despite our requests he just ran way out ahead of us with us all struggling to keep up all the while wanting to stop and look at things along the way.

One of the highlights for many of us is to do some of the touristy things like watching the Snake Charmers, Acrobats, Story tellers, Musicians, Fortune Tellers. He explained that we could watch for free, but if we took photos, they would want money and he would negotiate that for us. So, I expected that meant he would lead us by them and probably stop so we could watch. No, he runs at light speed past all of it. I don’t have a voice to say anything, but not sure it would have mattered anyway. Greg even told him I wanted a photo with one of the entertainers and he scoffed and just walked on.

Jemaa el-Fnaa - the Main Square & Markets





snake charmer - we didn't take more photos since we thought we would have more opportunities







So, he then leads us through the narrow maze of the Medina dodging people, carts, bikes and motorcycles. Cathy and I wanted to stop to look or buy things and he just kept on blocks ahead of us. We asked if we would return to the square and he said no. 

It soon became clear that it was important to him to guide us into specific places. The first was a stop at a place where they sell argon oil and a few other spices. We rush by everything we wanted to do and the guy starts his spiel with I’ll just take 20 to 30 minutes of your time. I croak out with no voice. No. None-the- less, we were seated while he showed us various products that we had no intention of buying. We stopped by the Majorelle Gardens, but they didn’t look that exciting, so we didn’t go in. (hoping for more time to shop) Cathy and I stopped to buy a pair of earrings each. The guide finally realized he was missing 2 people and came back for us. The guy at the stall said he didn’t have change and was trying to get us to buy them together instead of separately and we said no. He takes our 200 MAD and then gives us each 100 back. The guide came in and helped straighten out the mess. Telling the guy to go get change and give us each the correct amount. I know I got my change, but Cathy isn’t sure she did. MAD is about 10 to 1 so the earrings were cheap, but I imagine we overpaid. (we don't care.)

























argon oil & spice stop




Tom & Cathy & our guide













carrying dead birds (chicken or?) bad shot, but he walked right past me and hard to get a shot)



Finally, we are headed to lunch. It was down a series of empty alley ways and I’m thinking to myself it was a bit like trying to find our hotel in Varanasi (only in the daylight with fewer cows). It turned out to be a very nice restaurant and the food was very good. The Moorish Kitchen & Café was the name, and we were taken to the top of the restaurant, but there was no shade as it was open to the sun, so we asked to go downstairs. They took us down and 4 of us sat together and the other 2 had to sit separately. We had pre-ordered our food, so it didn’t take long to get it. I got the Beef/Lamb Tagine and Greg got the Couscous with meat. Both were loaded with roasted veggies and the meat was falling off the bone.

we took a bunch of back alleys to get to the lunch restaurant












lunch stop
presenting our lunch
Couscous with meat
Beef/Lamb Tagine


Cathy & me on the right
















foundouck - used to be a camel motel animals downstairs and people slept upstairs






Thinking we are trying to rush to our lunch reservation, we run past everything else we want to look at. Then he asks if we want a visit to a rug demonstration. I said “no” and I shook my head no since I couldn’t talk. So, we continued only to be taken into the rug store for the demonstration. Greg and I turned to walk out after all of us saying we don’t wish to buy any rugs or watch the demonstration. The guide says to come back as we are leaving out of a different exit. (it turned out to be very close to where we went in) There was a cat curled up and sleeping on one of the carpets and I turned to point to it and the seller “pounces”. “Do you like that carpet, let me show you that carpet”. I joked, “No, but how much is the cat?”

Carpet shop


beautiful tiles in the carpet shop


cat on some rugs
going to the bakery

We did pop into a small old-style Bakery. and saw a Foundouk a type of camel motel. 

family bakery








One of the highlights was our visit of The Jewel Mederssa Ben Youssef old school. Beautiful and intricate tiles and we saw where the students lived, learned, worked and slept.

The Jewel Medersa Ben Youssef old Koranic University




tutorial
student room
tutorial






























Cathy




We did walk through the workshops of some of the craftsmen & watched a part of the production process in their ancestral heritage.  It was interesting and reminded me a bit of the Dharavi slums in India. 

the industrial section (workshops & craftsmen)





me walking past
























We asked if we could have some free time to shop and he said he would take us to one street to do that. We could have 30 minutes. He kept pressing us for what exactly did we want to buy, and he would take us there. Nothing in particular, just wanted to interact with the shop owners and poke around and buy if something strikes us. He just didn't get it. Finally, we just give up and say let's go. Then, we end up back at the square where he said we wouldn't return. There were things there that Cathy saw and would have bought if we knew we were going back there. 





It's now in the heat of the day and the performers were all gone except for a few snake charmers which our guide steers clear and has no intention of stopping. So, we leave the guide and our driver takes us back to the port.






leaving Marrakech







Ramadan is still going, and our driver had fasted all day. We stopped for his breakfast on the way back to the port where we all grabbed something to eat as well. Cathy said he sat with his food checking his watch until the precise moment of sundown to start eating. He offered us some of his dates as we got off the van and they were very tasty, but I felt guilty eating part of his meal. I also noticed that he had his prayer rug with him so he could pray when it was time.

While in the rest stop several young men saw me and said, “ooh la la, English”. I laughed that they were so intrigued probably by the blonde hair. It’s those little moments that make this 70-year-old woman smile inside.

our snack at the rest stop
magnet
trinkets



Back in the van for the rest of the ride back to the ship. Simo was a great driver and guided us safely from a near miss situation with narrowing of lanes due to roadwork or something and we went around a truckload of chickens with their heads sticking out of the top of the truck. 

It was a frustrating day with our guide, but even the bad tours become memories and stories to tell. 

Tomorrow, we have a sea day before our last 2 ports of this voyage.

Morocco, Africa https://photos.app.goo.gl/q4cENtqHqhiyrpSW7

Birds seen:

Alpine Swift
Cattle Egret
Common Bulbul
Common Wood-Pigeon
Eurasian Blackbird
Little Swift
Meadow Pipit - NEW
Pallid Swift
White Stork